Bangladesh and India will advance several crucial issues including Teesta water sharing, transit, trade concession, and power sector cooperation when the foreign ministers of the two countries meet today for an official talk in Dhaka.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday alleged that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia enforced hartal to save her family members from the charges of murder, August 21 grenade attack, corruption, money laundering and other criminal activities.

To the relief of students and teachers of a primary school and residents in the city's Basila, a team of the Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday shut down an extremely noisy dredging platform adjacent to the school.

The Department of Environment (DOE) yesterday, fined six brick kilns at South Keraniganj on the capital's outskirts, a total of Tk 18 lakh for polluting the air and altering characteristics of flood plains.

Britain will withdraw 500 more troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year, taking its contingent there to 9,000 as Afghan forces become increasingly confident, Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday.

Editorial

We see a flurry of high level visits from India lately. Its External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is already in Dhaka. His visit will be followed by those of Home Minister P Chidambaram, and President, Indian National Congress and chairperson of ruling national alliance Sonia Gandhi culminating in the much-awaited trip of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh. Even though Sonia Gandhi will be on a private visit to attend an autism-related programme, this can have an important bearing on Indo-Bangla ties.

Defying High Court (HC) directive to the contrary, illegal housings projects have been displaying their billboards. Alongside it, work of developing the lands as well as erection of structures have also been going on in full swing on wetlands and public places. All this has been happening under the very nose of the administration and of the Rajdhani Unnoyon Kartripakkha (Rajuk), in particular. It needs mentioning that the latter is directly responsible for taking action against such illegal projects.

Sports

Batsmen jumping around at the crease is a rare sight in Mirpur these days. But a slightly lively wicket at the GP-BCB National Cricket Academy was enough to spice things up as the Tigers geared up there for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.

The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Pakistan Task Team (PTT) has recommended what amounts to a root and branch reform of the game in Pakistan, which includes broad changes to the way the board is run but also on issues such as selection and managerial appointments.

As the booters count down the remaining days to the end of the season, the club officials seek to boost the stars by announcing incentives ahead of the grameenphone Super Cup which starts from tomorrow.

The short-leg fieldsman often heard a whirr when he bowled. The battle-worn wicketkeeper whose eyes were hidden behind the sunglass was dead serious. The man at slip chewed an anxious gum and eyed the ball intently, focusing on the blind spot that is created every time it pitches around leg-stump. What went through the batsman's mind is anybody's guess but it would probably oscillate between pure trepidation and the thought of not getting embarrassed.

Kumar Sangakkara's speech at Lord's slamming the way the game is run in Sri Lanka has brought its first repercussion with the country's sports minister ordering a probe into his scathing comments against administrators and political meddling. The minister also said that being a contracted player, Sangakkara shouldn't have made a public statement criticising the board.

Schoolteachers even in the remote areas of the country now develop classroom contents for their students with the help of textbooks, websites and YouTube videos. Not only that, they also share the contents by signing up into blogs, said Md Mofakkharul Islam, a system analyst of the education ministry.

India is likely to pay an additional around 300 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) than budgeted in 2011/12 to state refiners as compensation towards selling fuel at subsidised rates, a senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The Padma Islami Life 1st Mutual Fund has recently been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said National Asset Management Ltd -- the asset manager of the fund -- in a statement on Sunday.

Bangladesh-India relation is now at a “momentous juncture” and “we are looking forward to a meaningful visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh, said Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna yesterday.

Construction of the hill protection wall with no holes to discharge rainwater and illegal removal of earth supporting the wall by land grabbers caused the tragic wall collapse here in Batali Hill on July 1 that left 17 people dead.

The study of fine art has been given less importance in the latest education policy for which the nation faces the possibility of falling behind the contemporary world, said a number of fine art connoisseurs.

The opposition BNP yesterday said it would announce next agitation programme at the end of the 48-hour non-stop hartal to protect people's right to vote while the ruling Awami League urged the opposition to give up politics of confrontation and hartal for the sake of strengthening democracy.

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday told the Jatiya Sangsad that the present government has a plan to build housing projects at district and upazila headquarters for ensuring housing for all by 2021.

Job seekers for the post of Assistant Information Officer of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) will able to take part in oral test at 2:00pm on July 9 failing to join the test scheduled for 3:00pm today for any unavoidable reasons, said an ISPR release.

National

Chief of Chakma Circle Raja Debasish Roy has slated the chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission (CHTLDRC) Chairman Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury for suggesting the government to carry out cadastral survey in the three hill districts.

Police sued around 1200 unidentified people early yesterday for assaulting a magistrate of a mobile court during post-union parishad election violence in Banskhali upazila of Chittagong on Tuesday night.

A defeated union parishad chairman candidate, also secretary of Burimari union unit of Awami League (AL) in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district, has been staying outside his home for around a month amid alleged death threat by another defeated candidate belonging to the same party.

The newly elected mayor of Ghorashal municipality, Shariful Islam Sharif had given false information about his educational qualification in the Election Commission's (EC) prescribed affidavit form before the election held on June 12.

A teenage boy was abducted allegedly by some Indian citizens on Banderpara border under Boda upazila in Panchagarh on Tuesday evening. Officer-in-charge of Boda police station Kaiser Ali Khan quoting locals said Foizul Islam,18, of Banderpara village went to catch fish in a waterbody on the border on Tuesday evening. At one stage, five Indian citizens of Satkura village in Jalpaiguri district in India abducted him. Local people informed the matter to Panchagarh BGB officials immediately and the BGB officials sent a message to BSF officials on the same night. A company commander level flag meeting was held yesterday. At the meeting BSF men assured BGB of taking proper steps to rescue the boy.

A court here on Monday convicted six people and sentenced them to life term imprisonment in a murder case. The convicts were identified as Dhirendra Nath Roy, Amal Chandra Roy, Shudhon Chandra Roy, Jitendra Nath Roy, Shishu Ram Roy and Gita Rani Roy. The court also fined them Tk 30,000 each, in default, to suffer two years more RI. According to the prosecution, the aforesaid people called Hossain Ali, son of late Tomiz Mahmud of Chira Bhija Golna village out of his home in the name of arbitration following a family feud on December 20, 2005. Hossain was found hanging from a tree the next morning. Later, the deceased's younger brother Abdur Rahman filed a murder case accusing 13 people.

Police yesterday recovered the body of a youngman from a ditch in the town. According to police and family sources, Md Shahed, 20, son of late Sabir Ullah of Sabia village under Moulvibazar Sadar upazila went missing from his house on Sunday. Yesterday, people of neighbouring Balierbhag village saw his body floating in a ditch. Amullya Kumar Chowdhury, officer-in-charge (OC) of Moulvibazar Sadar model police station said, Shahed might have been killed over a previous enmity. Police are investigating the case, he said.

A madrassa student allegedly committed suicide by taking poison at Kaitail union in Madan upazila Tuesday morning. The deceased was identified as Jewel Miah, 16, a student of Pochar Hafezia Madrassa and son of late Muslim Uddin of Mojlishpur village in Kendua upazila. Police and family sources said Jewel sought money from his mother for purchasing a mobile phone set on Monday. When his mother refused to give the money, Jewel became angry and went to his madrassa boarding house. There he took poison on Tuesday morning.

A court here on Tuesday sentenced five people to life term imprisonment for possessing drug. The court also fined the convicts Tk 20,000 each, in default, to suffer two years more RI. The lifers are Moniruzzaman Shikder, Badiuzzaman alias Milu, Ruhul Amin, Shimul Kumar and Aynal Molla. According to prosecution, a Rab-8 team arrested the five from a microbus along with phensidyl at Domrakandi on Dhaka-Khulna highway in the town in March, 2010.

International

Rebel fighters seized a village south of the Libyan capital and another group advanced towards Tripoli from the east on Wednesday in the biggest push in weeks towards Muammar Gaddafi's main stronghold.

A strike aimed at forcing the government to recognise statehood for Telangana shut businesses and disrupted transport for the second day yesterday, posing another challenge to floundering Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Arts & Entertainment

A weeklong solo painting exhibition, titled “Pater Gaan Banglar Bagh”, is on at Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Dhanmondi, in the capital. Director General of Bangla Academy, Professor Shamsuzzaman Khan, inaugurated the exhibition on July 5. The exhibition features 62 works of self-taught artist Nazir Hossain.

Noted author-playwright Syed Shamsul Haq and celebrated theatre director Ataur Rahman have joined hands once more. The duo, which has presented some hugely successful productions on Dhaka stage, will be working on a new play titled “Narigon”. Based on the historic events involving the last independent Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, the play will be produced by theatre troupe Palakar.

Dhaka University (DU) Day was first observed on January 8, 1983. It was an initiative of the then Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU). However, the day was not celebrated every following year. For example, after 1989, following the uprising that overthrew Ershad from power, the DU administration didn't celebrate the day. Then, in 2001, under the leadership of Dr. AK Azad Chowdhury, (former vice chancellor of DU) 80th anniversary of the university was celebrated on July 5, informed the Acting Registrar of DU, Syed Rezaur Rahman whose book on the history and heritage of DU was launched on that day. Since, 2007, he has been deeply involved in taking necessary steps to observe the DU Day on campus.

OP-ED

Investigations into the cases of Chittagong arms recovery and the grenade attack on AL meeting on 21 August 2004, have prima-facie established the complicity of the NSI and DGFI, in both the incidents.

A hundred years ago, the British moved India's capital from Calcutta to Delhi, and, by siting government here in these baked northern plains, in a town traditionally oriented to the dangerous northwest, subtly warped India's foreign policy today. Sometimes it seems as if everyone in Delhi is a Pakistan expert, with even those who grew up in the south able to recite bits of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and discuss the Hudood Ordinances. And, all the time, there's another neighbour to the east, almost as large and much more friendly, that New Delhi seems to have its back to permanently.

The much-talked-about 15th amendment to the constitution provides, inter alia, that the general elections of members of parliament (MPs) will be held within ninety days prior to the parliament's dissolution. During these ninety days, the parliament will remain, but it will not have any activity as the amendment has limited its power and functions for that period. As a result, the next parliamentary election will be held under the Awami League-led government.

Those of us, who share the blessing of having been a part of the family of Holy Cross College, have had the fortune of observing closely the lives of two such great teachers like Sister Marian Teresa and Sister Joseph Mary. Anybody who has ever got to know these two women surely will never be able to forget them. They have touched the lives of all students and made them better human being.